Research Groups of the Faculty of Technology

Improving environmental sustainability is a key motivation for developing a bioeconomy based on renewable resources. The development of biocatalytic processes is a challenging and often iterative process, especially when complex reaction networks, sensitive enzymes, or novel target molecules are involved.

The Bioprocess Engineering working group investigates how enzymes and microorganisms can be used to synthesize valuable molecules, especially those with pharmaceutical relevance. Biotechnological processes can optimize existing chemical processes from an ecological and economic perspective, or enable the production of compounds that are not accessible using conventional methods.

One focus of the research is on understanding and optimizing complex biocatalytic systems. Enzyme cascades, for example, offer elegant solutions for multistep syntheses, but are often limited by destabilizing interactions between their components. By combining modeling, simulation, and targeted experiments, the working group develops data-driven strategies that improve the overall performance of the cascades.

Another area focuses on cell-free protein synthesis, including its application for particularly challenging proteins, such as membrane proteins. Since their expression in vivo is often limited by toxicity, misfolding, and limited membrane capacity, the cell-free system offers a flexible alternative. Using suitable hydrophobic environments and integrated activity assays, the group is investigating how membrane proteins can be synthesized directly in a functional form without cells.

Beyond the development of individual processes, the working group is also looking at how biocatalysis and bioprocess engineering can be advanced more quickly and transparently. Standardized, high-quality data sets are crucial for reproducibility, modeling, and machine learning, but they remain rare. The working group is therefore committed to making experimental data FAIR in order to accelerate innovation.

The working group is part of the CeBiTec and is involved in national and international research networks. It is also involved in the transfer of biotechnological innovations to industry.